The Unstoppable Chef Elise Wiggins
Feed Me…I’m Hungry writer Michelle Sandstrom is also the Denver City Editor over at The Daily Meal, where her job is to search out and report on the best food in Denver. Read on for food news and Denver dinning recommendations.
Like many people with charisma, Chef Elise Wiggins, carries herself with a comfortable confidence. She is also clearly a determined person. She knows what she wants from life and works relentlessly towards it. She’s worked hard in each and every restaurant she’s spent time at, testing her kitchen skills, experimenting with food, learning to manage people, becoming the best. Elise has won accolades, been offered plum kitchen positions, always managed to keep moving up through the ranks. Yet, contrary to what you might expect of someone well renowned, the obviously gregarious Elise manages to put people immediately at ease with friendly conversation. Despite being incredibly busy she was also willing to sit down and talk frankly with The Daily Meal about her restaurant and her lifelong passion for cooking.
Wiggins currently holds the position of Executive Chef at Italian favorite Panzano, in Denver. Panzano is the in house restaurant for The Hotel Monaco. Owned by Kimpton Hotels & Resorts, The Monaco is part of a small boutique hotel chain; which follows a philosophy of hiring stellar people to provide guests with a unique and high end experience at their properties.
Wiggins told The Daily Meal she has been very happy with the Kimpton way of doing things, “It’s like owning your own restaurant. You’re independent. You drive the menu; but, like any high end restaurant situation it’s also, sink or swim. If you don’t do well you won’t last.” This is an environment Chef Elise, who is the kind of person who will always swim, thrives in. “The menu is 100% mine and as long as I’m successful I can just keep doing what I want to do.”
Certainly Panzano has been successful with Wiggins at the helm. Both Chef Elise and Panzano have received high praise from the media. Dinners have weighed in with their dollars. Panzano’s income has more then doubled from 3.2 million annually to 8.4 million since Elise became the Executive Chef ten years ago. “Most restaurants increase their revenue, they hope to, by 5% [annually] and I crush that. I crush it every year.” Chef Elise attributes this growth to the fact that she throws all she has into the restaurant.